I'm starting plans to go camping with the family this summer. I know, it's January, but with my budget, and seemingly non-existent amount of available time it's never too soon!
While the majority of my posts to the blog would lead one to believe that my interests lie mostly with making beer and cooking food, but there was a time when my main motivation in life was fishing. I still have this need to fish, though I haven't been in years now, which is a shame when you consider my proximity to the Atlantic Ocean and Intercoastal Waterway. I have to add that a major contribution to my fishing addiction is all the tackle and accessories. I am a gadget nut.
So, another pastime that has oodles of gadgets is camping. This runs somewhat contrary to the whole idea of getting away from civilization, but I don't think I've seen such a rabid bunch of new technology zealots as campers, with those from the "ultralight" backpacking group being the ones that are borderline fanatical about the latest materials and gadgets. In order to reach a new geek nirvana, one only has to combine a couple tech heavy hobbies.
Since I'm the father of a couple toddlers, and not in tip-top shape at the moment, I'm not likely to be found backpacking on some remote part of the Appalachian Trail as much as I'd like to do that one day. No, I'm thinking that in order to get the kids on the same page as ol' dad I'm going to have to do a little car camping and easy fishing. Of course that doesn't mean I won't be going "gadget strong", and to that end I'm doing research now on the kind of things that I can take to make the trip both more enjoyable for the family and nerdy for me!
Over the next few months I'll be taking stock of my camping gear and figuring out what is going to work for a family trip, what needs to be replaced, and finally what I simply can't do without for new equipment! There'll be tents, sleeping bags, lanterns, stoves, utensils, cookware, and probably most important activities for the kids.
This should be fun...
1 comments:
Matt: Just for your information, your mom and I took you camping quite a few times when you were still in diapers. One of our favorite places was up highway 49 just above Downiville. We had no tent. We either slept under the stars, or on a make shift bed in the back of our 1964 VW Bus. The reason we went there was so I could fish. So if you wonder where the camping and fishing bug comes from, look no farther than your dad.
Love Dad
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